Group communication server

Abstract

It is an object of the present invention to ensure readily communication between subgroups with reduced trouble to the user in the group communication in terms of subgroup formation and so on. A group communication server according to an embodiment of the present invention provides terminals with an intercommunication function between a plurality of terminals belonging to the same group, specifically a group communication function. The group communication server comprises a group information database for storing subgroup information that specifies terminals belonging to subgroups comprising a plurality of terminals of the terminals belonging to the group, and timing information that indicates a timing for establishing connection for intercommunication between the terminals belonging to these subgroups, and a group management unit and connection control unit which constitute control means for executing a control to establish connection between the terminals belonging to the subgroups specified by the subgroup information at a timing specified by the timing information stored in the group information database.

1. A group communication server for providing an intercommunication function between a plurality of terminals belonging to the same group, the group communication server comprising:
 a group information database for storing subgroup information that specifies terminals belonging to subgroups comprising two or more terminals of the plurality of terminals belonging to the group, connection mode information that indicates a connection type and a number of terminals in each subgroup, and timing information that indicates a timing for establishing connections by the specified connection type for intercommunication between terminals belonging to a subgroup; and 
 control means for executing a control to switch connections between all the plurality of terminals belonging to the group to connections among terminals belonging to the respective subgroups specified by the subgroup information at a timing specified by the timing information stored in the group information database after connections between all the plurality of terminals belonging to the group are established. 
 
     
     
       2. The group communication server according to  claim 1 , further comprising registration means for receiving input of the subgroup information and the timing information for each terminal from the respective terminal and registering the two information items in the group information database. 
     
     
       3. The group communication server according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determination means for determining the two or more terminals belonging to each of the subgroups by receiving input of mode information that indicates the number of the subgroups and the number of terminals belonging to each of the respective subgroups, and registering this determined information in the group information database as the respective subgroup information. 
 
     
     
       4. The group communication server according to  claim 3 , wherein
 the group information database further stores information that indicates attributes of users of the terminals, and 
 the determination means, referring to the attributes of the users of the terminals, determines which terminals belong to each subgroup on the basis of predetermined rules. 
 
     
     
       5. The group communication server according to  claim 1 , wherein the subgroup information constitutes information in which a terminal ID that specifies a terminal is associated with a subgroup ID that specifies a subgroup, and
 the group information database stores a group ID that specifies the group in association with the subgroup ID. 
 
     
     
       6. A group communication system, comprising:
 a group communication server according to  claim 1 ; and 
 at least one terminal configured for connection processing under control of the group communication server. 
 
     
     
       7. A group communication server providing an intercommunication function between a plurality of terminals belonging to the same group, the group communication server comprising:
 a group information database storing subgroup information that specifies terminals belonging to subgroups comprising two or more terminals of the plurality of terminals belonging to the group, connection mode information that indicates a connection type and a number of terminals in each subgroup, and timing information that indicates a timing for establishing connections by the specified connection type for intercommunication between terminals belonging to a subgroup; and 
 a controller executing control to establish connections among terminals belonging to respective subgroups specified by subgroup information at a timing specified by the timing information stored in the group information database by switching from previously established connections when connections are established between terminals belonging to subgroups different from the subgroups specified by the subgroup information of the plurality of terminals belonging to the group.